Joseph D. Lane is an Alabama attorney with The Cochran Firm – Dothan. After a five year career as a clinical pharmacist, Joe went to law school at the Florida State University School of Law, graduating with high honors. He began practicing law in Dothan, Alabama in 1991 with Cherry & Givens, the firm that would eventually evolve (along with other established firms) into The Cochran Firm. Joe is licensed in Alabama and Florida and has been admitted to numerous federal court jurisdictions, and numerous state and federal courts on a pro hac vice basis.
Although Joe has handled and continues to handle a wide range of tort cases, he has focused his practice on product liability, representing clients in numerous jurisdictions in 18 states throughout the contiguous United States. Additionally, Joe has handled civil appeals in the United States Supreme Court, Federal Tenth Circuit, Federal Eleventh Circuit, the Alabama Civil Court of Appeals, the Alabama Supreme Court, all State Trial and Appellate Courts for Florida including the U.S. District Court for the Middle and Northern Districts of Florida. More recently, Joe has been litigating against pharmaceutical companies and medical device manufacturers who distributed dangerous products in the marketplace, and large corporations who denied their employees' fair wages.
Joe was a finalist for the Public Justice Foundation’s 2008 Trial Lawyer of the Year Award, recognizing his work on the environmental case of Perrine v. E.I. DuPont de Nemours and Company. The Perrine case resulted in a $390 million verdict and was the highest consumer verdict in the U.S. in 2007.
Honors & Awards
Lifetime Member of the National Registry of Who’s Who
2018 Awarded Very High Rating in Distinguished Legal Ability & Ethical Standards
2007 – 2018 Top 100 Trial Lawyers with The American Trial Lawyers Association
2016 Champions for Children Award from the Children’s Advocacy Center
2014 America’s 30 Most Influential Law Firms from The Trial Lawyer Association
2003 DV Award for Outstanding Achievements in Digital Video Production
1997 & 1998 Sustain Member of the Alabama Trial Lawyers Association
1991 The Billings & Cunningham Book Award in Appellate Advocacy
1983 Dean’s Award at Auburn University School of Pharmacy
Professional Associations & Memberships
American Association of Justice
The National Trial Lawyers Association
The Alabama Trial Lawyers Association
Alabama State Bar Association
Florida State Bar Association
Houston County Bar Association
Education
B.S. – Auburn University
J.D. – Florida State University School of Law
Bar Admissions
Alabama
California
Florida